


Christmas (Eve) Cheer

by usermechanics



Category: Love Live! School Idol Festival (Video Game), Love Live! School Idol Project
Genre: Background RinPana, Christmas Eve, F/F, Fluff, Friendship/Love, Love Live Secret Santa 2018, No Plot/Plotless
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-12-25
Updated: 2018-12-25
Packaged: 2019-09-26 17:34:05
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,863
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17146067
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/usermechanics/pseuds/usermechanics
Summary: Nozomi makes sure that Nico has a good Christmas Eve.





	Christmas (Eve) Cheer

**Author's Note:**

  * For [whoneedsapublisher](https://archiveofourown.org/users/whoneedsapublisher/gifts).



> Dear whoneedsapublisher,
> 
>  
> 
> _Oh, wow. I’m writing for whoneedsapublisher._
> 
>  
> 
> That was legit my first thought learning that I was going to be writing for you for the Secret Santa. I am a huge fan of your work and undoubtedly I think your writing is good enough to justify such a handle. I didn’t really know you were that big of a NozoNico fan but I’m not going to complain about getting to write another festive NozoNico for this kind of event. Plus, you did say that other ships (as long as there isn’t any Eli) is fine so I put a bit of that in as well.
> 
> God, wow, I’m still reeling over the fact that I got to write for you. I honestly hope that you enjoy what I wrote, even if it doesn’t come close to the content that you write. Merry Christmas!

Nozomi hummed as she poured the remaining batter on the griddle, looking over to her bedroom door on occasion to see if Nico had finally woken up or not. She silently hoped so: she knew just how much Nico enjoyed her cooking, and her special peppermint bark pancakes were ready. She knew that she couldn’t eat them alone, but with the smell they gave off, it was tempting to down the entire stack.

And if the scent of pancakes wasn’t enough to get Nico out of bed, there was definitely the other things she had out: a box of orange juice, slices of pork belly, eggs. It was a special breakfast, one that was nothing unusual for the day before Christmas.

But what was taking Nico so long?

“Nicocchi!” Nozomi yelled. “Breakfast is ready!”

No response came over the sound of the pancake cooking for a few seconds. This was disconcerting; usually Nico was up before Nozomi even could start baking she loved her Christmas Eve breakfast, but something was up. Giving the pancake a final flip, she headed to her bedroom door and gave it a knock.

Before she could give it a few knocks, Nico opened the door, her expression dim and angry.

“Oh, Nicocchi! I’m glad you’re awake. I made your favorite.”

Nozomi gestured to the table, not realizing that her secret formula pancakes weren’t on the table quite yet. A quick dash to the oven to get the final pancake off the stove and a transfer to the table was enough to present all she needed to.

“Wow…” Nico replied, slightly bitter about the situation in spite of how fantastic the food looked. She found her way to the table and sat down behind one of the plates and silverware Nozomi set out. Silently and crankily, Nico grabbed a few pancakes and eggs and started eating her breakfast in dead silence. Not a thanks to Nozomi, no talking about what happened in her dreams, and nothing else.

“Nicocchi,” Nozomi wondered aloud, grabbing a pancake from off the serving plate. “Is everything okay?”

Nico shook her head. “Does everything look okay?”

From the bags underneath her eyes, to her scrambled, messy locks; there was no part of Nico that didn’t look like a few more hours of sleep seemed good. It didn’t matter that it was almost noon.

“Need more sleep?”

Nico nodded, shoving the remnants of her pancakes in her mouth, almost as if she didn’t realize nor care that they were the special ones she loved most. She was too tired to register them as pancakes.

“I’m going back to bed,” Nico mumbled, leaving Nozomi to wash her plate as she headed back to bed.

After a few minutes, enough time for Nozomi to clean up after both of them and to put everything away, she heard Nico open the door. She re-emerged with her hair done in her traditional, near-trademark style.

“I thought you were going to try to sleep.”

“I was,” Nico huffed, “but I tried tossing and turning and I just couldn’t get back to sleep.”

“You were in there for three minutes.”

Nico scoffed. “I don’t usually spend that long getting to sleep!”

Nozomi pulled a whisk from the sink, pointing it at her. “You’re always tossing and turning, Nicocchi! You can’t hide that from me when we share the same bed!”

No response. Nico kept staring at her, almost trying to drill two holes in Nozomi’s head directly where she stared. If looks could kill, Nozomi would have been revived just to be smited for certain. Such gaze didn’t bother her.

“Well, if that’s how you’re gonna be, then I’m gonna spend all day cheering you up! It must be so hard being cranky all the time.”

Nico stepped back, appalled at Nozomi’s sudden shift of behavior. She knew from many times before that whenever she pulled a stunt like this, she ended up paying for it miserably. The devious glint in her eyes was nothing more than a red flag, one which put Nico on edge as she backed away.

“Nozomi, what are you doing? You’re scaring me.”

“I just want you to be happy! I know that when I’m having a bad day, I can always count on my friends to make me feel better. I feel like it’d be the same for you since you seem so down in the dumps. Just tell me if there’s anything I need to get for you, and I’ll get it!”

“Coffee.”

Nozomi froze in place at Nico’s sudden request.

“If I’m going to be up all day, then please let me have a bit of coffee before we go out.”

Nozomi pouted. “Well, the least you can do is say please, Nicocchi!”

“Alright, fine!” Nico retorted before letting out a low “coffee, please.”

Her gratitude was met with a hug from behind, a kiss on the cheek she promptly wiped off seconds after it happened, and Nozomi bouncing back into the kitchen to pull out a bag of emergency coffee while heating some water.

“It’ll be done soon, Nicocchi! Would you like anything in it?”

After a few seconds, Nico gave her answer.

“Two creams and thirteen sugars. I can’t stand the taste of coffee. I just need the energy.”

Soon enough, the water was finished and Nozomi made her a cup of coffee, but before Nozomi could put anything into it, Nico took the cup and drank all of its contents, not even budging at the bitter taste which attacked her palate. Before Nozomi could make a comment about it, Nico glared at her.

“I really need the energy, okay, Nozomi? Now can you quit giving me that look?”

The look, of course, was Nozomi with her eyes wide in surprise with a spoonful of sugar poured out onto the counter. Nico’s eyes slowly darted to the spilled sugar before looking back at Nozomi.

“You didn’t put in the sugar before I drank it, did you?”

“You didn’t give me enough time, Nicocchi! I was making your coffee how you like it then you snatched it from me before I could add the cream or sugar.”

“Hmph.” Nico turned away with a pout, standing there as if waiting for an apology or something from Nozomi. It didn’t matter to her exactly what she planned on doing; what mattered was that she was planning something, anything to make her feel better about accidentally drinking black coffee out of sheer impatience.

It didn’t matter that it was her fault.

“Well, Nicocchi, if you’re going to be like that, I’m just going to watch the Holiday Live without you.”

Nico turned around, eyebrows furrowed. If looks could kill, no amount of spiritual power would have been able to save Nozomi from Nico’s anger.

“Nozomi! That live is specifically meant to be watched at 9 at night! It’s how it’s been ever since I moved in! If you watch it now, I’m going to leave!”

Nozomi froze. She was more surprised about Nico’s adherence to tradition over the fact that she considered watching Nico’s favorite live without her; considering the size of their apartment, she knew that Nico could just waltz in at any moment during the live. What was even more surprising to her, though, was how personally she took it. It was meant to be a joke, and there Nico was, spluttering about leaving. She didn’t want to try it. Nozomi knew that Nico was at her breaking point and she needed to calm her down.

“Okay, okay! I’m sorry that I said that. Maybe I could make it up to you by spending time with you today!”

“What good will that do?”

Nozomi knew not to take offense. “You’re having a bad day, and that cup of coffee you drank won’t help matters on trying to sleep today off. So why not just go around town and have a bit of fun? Maybe we can even call it a--”

“Don’t call it a date, Nozomi.”

“Day to ourselves?”

“Why not just stay in for that?”

“Because I still need to say my prayers for Christmas. Even if you don’t tag along, I’m going.”

Nozomi turned around and practically skipped out to the front door. “I’m going!” Grabbing her coat, she quickly threw it on and zipped it up. “Don’t wait up!” She called out as she opened the door.

“I won’t,” Nico retorted.

She shut the door behind her, humming to herself as she started walking away from her place. A few paces in, she stopped, and silently counted to herself. One, two, three…

On three, as she expected, she heard the door open behind her and slam shut. Out came Nico dressed in her winter coat and a scarf.

“Where are we headed?”

 

* * *

 

“So, why are we at the shrine again?”

“I told you already, Nicocchi!” Nozomi nudged her with an elbow. “I need to make my Christmas prayers!”

“But,” Nico wanted to gesture to the empty space they were standing in; Nozomi was the only other person she saw while making their way to the shrine. “Nobody’s here.”

“I know!” Nozomi turned and gave her a smirk. “Nobody’s here, so that means we don’t have to wait to make our wishes! I know that nobody shows up to a shrine in the morning, and thus it’s the best time to make a prayer.”

“Because nobody’s here?”

“Yes!”

“Are you sure it will work?” Nico adjusted her scarf, quirking an eyebrow in Nozomi’s direction.

“I’ve done it before, Nicocchi! Do you think I’d tell you something that didn’t work?”

“You better be right about this…” Nico sighed, walking towards the shrine and tugging Nozomi with her. “Can we just do this and get it over with?”

Nozomi stayed quiet; it took everything she had not to explode at Nico for that question and how ignorant it was, but she knew that it wasn’t worth yelling at her for. Instead, she followed her.

“Maybe we’ll do more of the fun shrine stuff with the rest of Muse. You’d like that more, wouldn’t you?”

Nico turned around and gave her a nod. “So I’m wondering why we just don’t do everything with them at another time?”

“Maybe I want to wish for something that doesn’t relate to them? We can have a special Christmas wish for when we go to the shrine with them, but for now, we can just give special wishes for each other, because we’re roommates and all...”

“Nozomi…” Nico huffed, trying to have a reason to be mad at her. Nozomi’s smile didn’t waver at the range of emotions she threw at her until she settled with defeat. Nico’s gaze hit the floor and she let out a sigh before turning around and heading towards the shrine. It was a few steps away, but Nozomi somehow found a way to find a lead and tug her along for such a short distance.

“Ready to wish?”

“I guess…” Nico looked at the shrine for a few seconds, trying to think of something to wish for. After about ten seconds, she looked at Nozomi wish a raised eyebrow.

“Hey, Nozomi, what should I wish for?”

“Anything you want! Do you want me to go first?”

Nozomi clapped her hands and looked at Nico with a wide smile. Nico couldn’t say no to that wide smile and defeatedly let out a sigh. She clapped her hands in kind and faced the shrine. Closing her eyes, she started to let her mind wander about her wish, only for something to be blurted in her ear.

“I wish that Nicocchi will be happy for the rest of the day!”

Nico’s eyes widened, breaking her concentration of her wish. She swore she had something, but with Nozomi’s remark, she had forgotten it entirely. To make matters worse, Nozomi’s wish was embarrassing; if it weren’t so cold, her cheeks definitely would have glowed pink at her little comment. Angered, she turned towards Nozomi, hands balled up into tiny fists.

“Nozomi, what?”

“I think you heard me, Nicocchi. I want you to have a good day. I don’t like seeing you so down in the dumps.”

Nico wanted to be angry at her. She didn’t know why: it could have been that she found Nozomi’s wish to be so cheesy that she couldn’t comprehend it, or it could have been that she didn’t want to be at the center of attention if it was Nozomi’s overbearingness. But at the same time, she couldn’t bring herself to it. There was something so cheesy about it all, about having that be someone’s wish that she overheard. It didn’t matter that Nozomi was purposefully doing something like that.

It just felt too weird for her to comprehend, and she slumped her shoulders.

“Need a hug?”

Before Nico could reply to Nozomi’s question, she felt her embrace. She didn’t even try to struggle against her: Nozomi was warm and comfy and with how cold it was, Nico appreciated the warmth. Hands resting in front of her belly, Nico relaxed into Nozomi, free to do so without the fear that she was being set up for a washi-washi. She hoped that, at least: she couldn’t tell what Nozomi was planning on doing to her. Instead of reaching up when she most expected it, though, Nozomi pulled away, leaving Nico leaning on nothing and almost falling to the ground.

“Yea, uh, thanks, Nozomi.” Nico mumbled. “I needed that.”

“No worries!” Nozomi remarked. “Do you have a wish now?”

“I wish I knew what to wish for. Does that count?”

“It’s a wish but are you sure you want that to be your wish?”

“We’re going to be coming back with the rest of Muse anyway, Nozomi,” Nico remarked before turning towards the shrine and clapping her hands.

“I wish I could come up with the best wish for when I come back here.”

“Well, Nicocchi, if that’s what you want,” Nozomi spoke, her voice lacking her typical teasing overtones before clapping herself. “May you find that wish.”

“Thank you, Nozomi,” Nico remarked before stepping away from the shrine. “So, is there anything else that you’d like to do today?”

Nozomi raised an eyebrow before starting to think. It was a slow day and she knew that not much was going on--the nature of near-Christmas made holiday schedules pop up in the windows of all buildings she walked by. Giving a shrug, she asked the question back to Nico, wondering if there was anything that she wanted to do.

“We can get Christmas presents for ourselves, or each other…”

Despite Nico falling off her sentence, the last three words picked up Nozomi’s attention. “What’d you say?”

“We can get Christmas presents for ourselves, Nozomi!”

“Wasn’t there something else you said at the end of that?” Nozomi extended her arms and gave Nico a smirk which she knew what it meant. Clutching her hands to her chest as a means of defense, she spluttered something out.

“Or each other! We could get things for each other, because we’re friends.”

“That sounds like a great idea!” Nozomi reached for one of Nico’s hands and started tugging her, running away from the shrine and to their next destination.

 

* * *

 

“Nozomi?”

“Yes, Nico?”

“We’re in the shopping district. Why are you still holding my hand?”

Nozomi pouted in feigned offence. “Because I like holding your hand, Nicocchi! Gosh, why ask a question like that?”

Even though their hands were clad in gloves, Nico could feel Nozomi’s warmth radiating through her glove and into her own. Her hand felt like it was burning. This wasn’t even getting into how the multitudes of people (and, with the shopping district days before Christmas, multitudes of people were congregated in there beyond what Nico could ever expect on any other day) could catch that they were holding hands and take it the wrong way. Maybe Nozomi was oblivious to that, or she didn’t care if she was parading some friend around like she was a girlfriend. Nico could never tell with her.

Nico stayed silent and kept with Nozomi until they reached the store which Nico loved most: Nozomi could immediately tell not by how Nico’s eyes lit up like the neon lights advertising the store, but what said neon lights said: Idols! Nico bounced with enjoyment as they approached the store, giddy with excitement that she’d finally get to step foot in the store.

“I heard this place opened a few weeks ago and I thought you’d like it, Nicocchi!”

Nico turned around, and Nozomi expected some sort of lecture about how this store was an idol Mecca, even compared to the many other shops of Akihabara, but instead of going any bit into that, she was still bouncing. Not only was it open, but it wasn’t crowded at all. From what she could see from the entrance, there were only two people in the store outside of the staff, another couple of people who were like Nozomi and herself: a brunette and a redhead, both of them around the same age as them, both sporting short hair. While the brunette pointed at a few things, the redhead took whatever the brunette pointed at and gently placed them into any one of the many plastic bags that were in her hands. The redhead turned for a second, and immediately Nico and Nozomi both registered who the couple was.

If they didn’t, then the redhead’s cry of “Nyazomi!” was more than enough: Rin and Hanayo.

Rin crashed into Nozomi with the force of a speeding bullet hitting a bulletproof vest, bouncing off of Nozomi’s plush. Dusting herself off, she stood up and gave both Nico and Nozomi a hug.

“Hey, Rin!” Nozomi greeted her before yelling over to Hanayo, giving her a similar greeting. She turned around, noticed that Rin was busy hugging their former idolmates, and walked over, boots clacking against the tile floor.

“Rin-chan! Please tell me if you’re going to scare people like that!”

“Sorry, Kayo-chin! I didn’t think that Nozomi or Nico would mind, nya!”

Hanayo giggled at that, and after a few moments, Rin let go of Nico and wrapped herself around Hanayo, almost like she was an article of clothing. Nozomi smiled and giggled.

“How’ve you two been?”

“Well, we’ve been--”

“Kayo-chin wanted to check out this new idol shop and we were surprised that there wasn’t anyone inside, nya! We thought it was closed but the staff made sure to tell us that it was just a slow day. We were so worried, but no, I get to buy some cute idol merch for Kayo-chin!”

“Rin-chan…” Hanayo tried hiding behind Rin’s shoulder, to no avail. The only person Hanayo could have practically hid behind was Nozomi, standing right in front of her and watching her trying to disappear behind her girlfriend.

“So, Rin,” Nico stepped forward, making sure to hide herself from Hanayo; she didn’t want her to be in the crossfire of her accusatory tone. “Is there anything good in there?”

“Gosh, there’s a lot, Nico-chan! Everything from every idol you can possibly think of! I didn’t even know that they were still hosting the Love Live, nya!” Rin then lifted an arm, unfazed by the lot of stuff that she just bought. “I think I’ve spent like 15,000 yen just getting things for Kayo-chin here! I’m spoiling her today, nya!”

“R-r-Rin-chan,” Hanayo whimpered, almost ready to break out into tears, “you really didn’t have to…”

“Kayo-chin,” Rin turned around, her voice suddenly gentle. “I’m only getting you all this because I want you to have a Merry Christmas.”

“Rin-chan…” Hanayo huffed before rubbing her forehead against Rin’s. “You know I don’t need all of this to have a Merry Christmas. I appreciate it, but I just really want to spend time with you.”

While Nozomi enjoyed watching their friends partaking in their public display of affection, Nico rather turned to Nozomi, questioning why she enjoyed watching them at all. It was weird watching them all touchy; it felt like she was intruding on them both, and there Nozomi was, ever the voyeur, taking in all the sights of their close friends on the cusp of making out in public.

That was, until Hanayo realized that they were in public, pulled away, and flushed violently red.

“Well, uh, I, uh, think, uh…”

Neither Nico nor Nozomi understood any of Hanayo’s mumbling after that, but after a few seconds of it, Rin nodded and grabbed Hanayo’s hand again.

“Well, I should probably actually buy this stuff and then we’re going to get some food. I found this place which serves the best rice you can ever find, and the ramen’s not that bad either, nya! We should get going. See ya!”

“Bye, Rin! Bye, Hanayo!”

As they scampered off, Nozomi gave Nico’s hand a quick squeeze.

“Aren’t they cute together?”

“They are, Nozomi, but don’t get any wrong ideas with me.”

Nozomi pat Nico’s head with her free hand. “I know, I know. You’re not expressive like they are.”

Nico’s brow furrowed, and Nico squeezed Nozomi’s hand in return. Nozomi squeezed back, with jokingness replacing the ire that Nico’s squeeze was fueled by. After a few exchanged glances, smiles, and sighs, Nozomi led them into the merch store, where Nico immediately broke free of Nozomi’s handhold and looked around for figurines of her favorite idol.

Herself.

Thankfully, the time spent in Muse had made sure that there were plenty of those around. Even though even Rin and Hanayo both graduated a few years ago, the store seemed to be absolutely packed with their merchandise. The half of the store which was dedicated to school idols and the many Love Lives that came after was still, somehow, dominated by their likenesses, as if even the groups that came before and after were nothing compared to them. Nozomi followed Nico into the school idol section, almost a bit surprised at how much merchandise there was of them, but what seemed to be more important was how Nico was fuming.

In the sickest of fates, the Nico statues were on the top shelf, just out of reach for her. Even as she stood on her toes, bouncing desperately for just another few millimeters of height, it was all futile: she wouldn’t jump in an attempt to get her figurines off the shelf. After a few painful attempts, Nico stepped back with a pout, defeated that her own merchandise wasn’t available to her.

With her next step back, Nico accidentally stepped into Nozomi’s space, where her head rested against her chest.

“Eli should be on the top shelf,” Nico mumbled. “She’s taller, and can actually reach up there.”

“Do you want me to get them for you?” Nozomi asked. She knew she didn’t need to ask the question, because there was no way that Nico was going to decline her own statues. The moment she started asking, even, Nico stepped forward, able to support herself on her own, and with a turn around, she gave Nozomi a beaming smile.

“You’d do that for me?”

“Of course I would!”

After a few seconds, Nico returned to her regular, sour state and turned around, pointing at a few of the particularly expensive-looking figurines. As she promised, Nozomi grabbed the boxes with the merchandise that Nico wanted, boxes stacked almost stressfully in her hands. Tucking the top box underneath her chin, Nozomi walked slowly towards the counter, trying to make sure none of the objects in her hands fell. It felt like with crafts like these, if she broke any of them, not only would they be forced purchases but Nico wouldn’t put them anywhere. She was gracious that the only other people in the store were the employees: if she had to deal with an accidental collision of any kind, she’d hear too much of it from Nico.

Nozomi let out a sigh of relief as she finished her walk to the counter, and she slowly lowered the boxes so that they wouldn’t be injured. However, those feelings of relief quickly died out when she looked at the bill increasing with each and every figurine. Nozomi was glad that her jobs paid well, for this was beyond what she had expected. She wondered how Rin was able to keep her costs for Hanayo at under 20,000 yen, while she watched as the numbers kept adding up until she just couldn’t look anymore and she handed the credit card to the cashier early, a move of surrender as she didn’t even know how much she just spent on Nico’s Christmas shopping. What she did know is that she blew a good portion of her savings account into it.

Fortunately, her savings account couldn’t compare to the smile on Nico’s face as the purchase was approved and a menagerie of new merchandise of herself was now her own. It wasn’t even comparable to Maki’s savings account, however much that was. As the boxes were bagged, Nozomi was taken aback by Nico’s reaction, which was to hug her. She didn’t disagree about it, however, and she embraced her in kind, smiling. Sometimes, she wished that these moments didn’t have to cost her an arm and a leg, but she couldn’t be picky with her: any moments where Nico was happy enough to hug her were moments which she cherished more than any amusement park ride.

“I’m glad you like them,” Nozomi said, as if they were gifts that Nico freshly unwrapped. At this point, it was a waste of wrapping paper, considering Nico literally chose the gifts herself.

Nico’s response, a flurry of thanks and goodwill, was primarily smothered by Nozomi’s body, with Nico’s head, due to her height, resting against Nozomi’s chest. After her self-inflicted smothering and thanks, Nico pulled away, gasped for breath, and looked up at Nozomi, letting their gazes meet.

“Is there anything you want really badly? I need to pay you back for this!”

“Well, there is one thing that I want, but it’s kind of expensive…”

“Are you kidding? You spent so much on these figurines! I don’t have a lot of money, but I really need to get you something good. I need to get you something you’d like better than I’d like these!”

“You’ll be looking for a long time then, Nicocchi.”

Nozomi giggled, but Nico wasn’t that amused.

“Do you want my gratitude or not, Nozomi?”

“Pardon, pardon. Sorry about that.”

Nico returned to nuzzling into Nozomi. “So, what do you want right now more than anything else in the world? Something that you could only dream of? I’ll buy it if I can, promise!”

After a bit of deliberation on her end, Nozomi figured out what she wanted. Certainly, it was something that she could get herself, but considering that Nico was promising that she’d pay for whatever she wanted, it was worth the consideration that she’d buy it for her. After all, it was Christmas, and there was nothing more Christmasy than gift-giving, no matter how ridiculous the gifts were. At the very least, Nozomi thought her idea was about as sound as purchasing a ridiculous amount of bootleg merchandise of the person she was buying gifts for.

“I think I know what I want.” Nozomi pulled Nico away so that she held her by the wrist, and once more, Nozomi ran off, dragging Nico on her way through the shopping district until she found herself at where she wanted to be.

“You could get me to buy anything here, and you want me to buy meat?”

“Yakiniku, Nicocchi. You know how much I love it!”

“Should we just go somewhere to eat?”

 

* * *

 

“I can’t believe that you still want me to buy you meat!”

Nozomi didn’t care, humming to herself as she took another bite out of her kebab.

“There’s something about being able to grill it at home, Nicocchi. You know that!”

Even if Nico didn’t know that, she was set to purchase Nozomi what she wanted. It would have explained why she was so adamant about buying lunch for herself (even if she had bought from a relatively cheap vendor). They stood in front of the meat shop which they started at, with Nico impatiently waiting for Nozomi to finish her food. It wasn’t like her sweets, where she could just pop one in and walk around with it. Nozomi just had to savor every bite she made, making sure to chew her less-than-ladylike bites until there was no more flavor in them before taking another bite. It felt like hours to her, and after a bit of foot tapping, Nico questioned her.

“Do you want me to go in there and get you something while you’re finishing that up?”

“Why didn’t you think of that before, Nicocchi?”

Nico pouted. Sometimes, it was a miracle to her that she was able to pass her classes, but Nozomi responding like it was the most obvious answer was annoying. With a huff, Nico turned around and headed towards the vendor, eyeing the various cuts of meat and other goodies that Nozomi loved so much.

Nico shivered slightly as she eyed everything, kinda glad that her sweets didn’t look like they were just pulled straight out of horror movies half of the time. She shook off the thought, remembering that this food wasn’t for herself, and if she got what was wanted of her, she’d spend another half-minute with her face submerged in bosom. As suffocating as it was, at least she had a happy Nozomi.

“Can I help you?”

Nico hadn’t even realized that she was right in front of the vendor, and she was still busily looking at the various meats in the display right in front of her. She never quite got the names of the many foods that Nozomi cooked for her, but what made things easier for her was knowing what the foods looked like. It made the shopping easy: she purchased things which she believed she once saw on her plate, and as the vendor pulled from the display, she almost couldn’t help but watch with horror as the weights started to add up, purchasing kilograms of meat for the sake of someone’s Christmas gift. It looked less like Christmas shopping and more like gluttony, and the vendor seemed almost confused at how someone as small as Nico was ordering a fantastic amount of food.

“Do you have a party?”

“Christmas shopping for a friend. She loves yakiniku.”

“Looks like it,” the vendor replied before giving the price of Nico’s purchases.

No wonder why Nozomi wanted Nico to buy her food for her. It was a price that was appalling even for figurines, and she was uncertain as to whether or not her gift was more expensive or if Nozomi’s was. She sunk a good few tens of thousands into her purchase and thankfully, like Nozomi’s purchase, it went through after a swipe of her credit card. She winced, however, at how much it was worth and how it went through: she feared that poor Cocoa, Cotaro, and Cocoro wouldn’t be receiving anything special from her for Christmas.

It didn’t even matter to her that their gifts were already wrapped underneath the tree.

Nico grabbed the bags full of meat and plodded out of the store, almost ashamed at the amount that she had spent. That shame melted as she watched Nozomi’s grin grow exponentially, growing almost as giddy with excitement as how she was when she learned how many figurines she was getting for Christmas. Nozomi practically tackled her, and Nico’s hands balled into fists to make sure that her cargo didn’t fall to the floor and end up being ruined.

“Nozomi, be careful!” Nico whined, trying to get her words out so that Nozomi could hear them while being submerged in chest. “I don’t want to drop these!”

Nozomi let her go, realizing that she had bags full of refrigerated--not frozen--meat. “I guess we should probably head back so we can keep those cold, huh?”

Nico gave her a nod. “We should probably head to the bus station.”

And, grabbing Nozomi’s hand, Nico led the way.

 

* * *

 

“Can you turn it up a bit more?”

It didn’t matter to Nico that perhaps the entire apartment could hear the Holiday Live: there was just that aspect of needing it to be loud to truly fit the idol experience. It was why Nico pestered Nozomi for that surround sound set a few years back; all she needed was a virtual reality headset and she would have been completely immersed in her idol escapades (although the sacrifice would be not having Nozomi to watch it with)--the true way, in Nico’s mind, to enjoy an idol performance. The yearly noise complaint would come tomorrow from a cranky neighbor, and the scraps on yakiniku that Nico didn’t particularly want--ones Nozomi couldn’t eat she was that stuffed--and candy wrappers surrounding their couch would just have to be picked up tomorrow as well.

“Nicocchi, it’s already at full volume.”

“Oh,” Nico shrugged, popping into her mouth a hard candy. Tossing the wrapper aside, she moved over to wrap an arm around Nozomi, who very quickly reciprocated the action. It was the best part of having a traditional live to watch: even in her most coveted form of televised event there was this feeling of being able to relax, a feeling that let her enjoy a (relatively) quiet moment with her…

...all Nico hoped was that Nozomi wouldn’t ask a question like that, but it might have already been too late when she heard Nozomi let out a small hum.

“Nicocchi,” Nozomi began. Nico froze, almost worried that she’d have to answer a question about how she likes her, or something like that. It was an obvious question to her, but she didn’t know if Nozomi would like the answer. It was the one issue with having such an affectionate best friend.

“Are you feeling better?”

“Better?”

“Yea, Nicocchi. You were in a bad mood this morning and so I wanted to make today one of the best days ever for you.”

“You know,” Nico began, “I really appreciated it. I had a lot of fun today, and,” Nico gestured to the collection of idols on the table besides them, each of them newly-unboxed. Hopefully, Nozomi understood just how much those presents meant to her.

“I’m glad you had a good day,” Nozomi replied before giving Nico a kiss on the cheek. Nico gave her a glare, then returned to looking at the television. Considering all she did for her today, it was only fair she’d get to do something like that.

“Shh! This is the best part!” Nico hushed Nozomi for the next song, and as if she were the idol herself, started singing along to the music.

Nozomi stayed quiet, holding her little Christmas Angel in her arms. As much as Nico would kill her for saying that, it was what she thought, and she was happy her little Christmas Angel had a merry Christmas Eve.

**Author's Note:**

> Got any requests, ideas, or just want to hang out? Join my discord! https://discord.gg/YJPVY4K


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